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The penetrating life-look that grips visitors from
the darkness of the wall-mount is unnerving in
its intensity, and it is only on closer inspection of
this over-sized portrait that it becomes obvious the
artwork is an oil painting and not a photograph.
The almost sculptural effect of the hyper-realistic
artwork of Matthew Penn is the pinnacle of per-
fection in the Chiaroscuro style, which works with
dramatic contrasts between light and dark; helped,
to excellent effect, by the precision accentuation
delivered by spotlights.
In striking similarity to the works of Caravaggio,
Rembrandt and Titian, people in Matthew Penn’s
focus seem to jump off the canvas in the directional
light that is projected onto a dark background. The
27-year-old self-trained artist uses techniques of
Chiaroscuro defined byTenebrism, itself a style that
arose around 1600 and was perfected during the
Renaissance. In this style, light finds a new, dra-
matic role and, with expert use of strong contrasts
between darkness and light, the personalities and
body language of the characters are emphasised,
giving the spatial depth of the artwork even more
power.
Matthew Penn regards light holistically and
as an integral component of all his artwork. This
not only applies to the technique, but also to his
creative process. The portraits’ almost hypnotic
qualities are only revealed with the right lighting
systems in place. Penn uses ERCO lighting in his
atelier and equips every piece of art with ERCO
spotlights – these emphasise the Chiaroscuro ef-
fect thanks to their precise accentuation. The goal
is simple – collectors should be able
to enjoy the artwork with exactly
defined illumination and, in this way,
the artist can be sure that the full
power of his work is enjoyed.
The exhibition space in which the
artistic project by Matthew Penn,
‘Illuminating Characters’, took place
is a temporary black cubicle. Pollux
spotlights were used, either with
2 W narrow spot distribution or as
a 6 W contour spotlight, which was
ideal for the illumination of the three
extremely large paintings. “I use Pol-
lux lights because they allow me to
sculpt the light on the painting with
more control and a refined definition,”
Penn explained. He uses ERCO light-
ing tools to deliver targeted accent
lighting onto specific details, lending
further depth, and beyond that, true
Caravaggio-like lighting effects
emotion. In order to achieve this goal, ultimate
precision of the photometric technology is key to
avoid spill light on unwanted areas of the artwork.
The light is almost painted into place.
A further important theme of the exhibition
was the selection of colour temperature. The art-
ist selected Pollux 3 000 K warm white luminaires
to emphasise faces, skin, hair and even wrinkles.
Artistic lighting within the paintings is highlighted
in neutral white, at 4000 K, which creates a life-
like and almost three-dimensional effect. Penn
explained, “This way of sculpting and manipulating
the light on the painting enhances it to complete
the piece. The combination of lighting and finished
hyper-realistic painting takes the work into a mes-
merising and engaging darker atmosphere where
the viewer is transported and immersed within the
portrait – a way of lighting not just to display the art
but to enhance it and become part of the art itself.”
‘Matthew Penn – Illuminating Characters’
represents a collaboration between the artist and
ERCO, a specialist in architectural lighting with LED
technology. Highlights of the exhibition are the artis-
tic approach and the significance of light in Penn’s
creations. The exhibition is designed to be mobile.
To find out more about Penn and his work, refer
to this link:
ERCO:
Below: Matthew Penn lighting the scarf
Copyright: Matthew Penn Art, Photographer: GilesToller